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Severus Snape’s relationship with the Hogwarts headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, undergoes many changes with time, evolving into one of the strongest inHarry Potter. A seasoned wizard, he contributes on a scale arguably unparalleled by any previous Hogwarts teacher. He aids Dumbledore in running the school and secretively partners with him in the lead-up to the Second Wizarding War.
Snape’s role as a triple agent - a double agent working for Dumbledore while pretending to be a double agent for Voldemort and the Death Eaters, sets the tone of the war. He rarely shows emotion and is okay with being seen as a villain inHarry Potter. However, the long black robes, a passion forDefense Against the Dark Arts, flawless incantations, and excellency at potion-making are a front for this broken shell of a man who turned to Dumbledore in genuine repentance and worked tirelessly to defeat the dark side.
Severus Snape: From A Boy Of Nine/ Ten To Adulthood
Chapter 33 ofHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallowspaints an insightful picture of Snape’s journey at Hogwarts. Harry gets to witness it by pouring Snape’s memories into the basin of the stone Pensive. Snape begins the chapter as an underage wizard, a keen observer, and the first to notice that the girl (Harry’s mother Lily) from the right side of the tracks is a witch. They become friends in time, but the girl’s older sister, Petunia, openly despises them. Snape has a half-blood heritage, whileLily comes from Muggle parents. Petunia, on the other hand, is a Muggle like her parents, hence it is completely natural for her to feel jealous. However, she is unable to handle her feelings and continually tears Lily and Snape down while yearning to attend Hogwarts.
Dumbledore is the Headmaster of the school, and at this point in the tale, Snape and Lily are newcomers, sorted into Slytherin and Gryffindor Houses respectively. Snape likes to dabble inthe Dark Arts, while Lily is the object of James Potter’s affection. James, an affluent kid, and Hogwarts' Quidditch hero,has more friends, namely, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin. James and co., except Lupin, pick on Snape. As might be expected, Snape knows James fancies Lily but is helpless about it.
Snape and Lily’s friendship takes a nosedive after he calls herthe unforgivable word “Mudblood”(a disparaging term for someone born to non-magic parents). After their 5th year O.W.L in Defense Against the Dark Arts, James springs up on Snape, who’s minding his own, away from the school, sitting under a beech tree.James hangs Snape upside down, revealing his underpants to the whole school, and Lily comes to his defense. Unable to protect himself and in the heat of the moment, Snape calls Lily the said offensive term, and that is it for their friendship. In their very last conversation, Lily refuses to accept Snape’s apology, saying:
You and your precious little Death Eater friends - you see, you didn’t even deny it! You don’t even deny that’s what you’re all aiming to be! You can’t wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?
Snape and Lily choose their ways and Lily settles down with James in later life. They have a baby boy named Harry, who changes the very trajectory of things for everyone, including him.
Severus Snape And Albus Dumbledore Behind Closed Doors
The Prince’s Tale On Snape And Dumbledore’s Alliance
Snape bitterly regrets relayingSybill Trelawney’s prophecyto the Dark Lord and knows Dumbledore is the only wizard who can help them. He seeks him on a hilltop and explains how Voldemort, aware of the prophecy, has marked the Potters for death. Voldemort thinks that this prophecy of a boy born at the end of July refers to Lily Potter’s son. Snape wants Lily to be saved, and to that end, asks Voldemort to spare her. Dejected, Snape turns to Dumbledore at the most difficult hour and asks him to take the Potters into hiding for anything in return.
The second Dumbledore and Snape scene that Harry witnessed is afterPeter Pettigrew’s betrayal, the deaths of Lily and James, and Voldemort’s first defeat. They join hands to protect Harry, for Dumbledore is sure the Dark Lord will rerise and rally the Dark Side behind him again. Snape wants their alliance to be kept a secret:
Very well. But never - never tell, Dumbledore! This must be between us! Swear it! I cannot bear… especially Potter’s son… I want your word!
With that, Dumbledore gives his word and years later, Harry, a boy of eleven, is a Hogwarts student, and an object of Snape’s scorn. In the next scene, Harry sees Snape and Dumbledore discussing his arrival at Hogwarts. Dumbledore is fond of Harry, while Snape is biased towards him. But more importantly, this scene reveals thatSnape quietly takes on the responsibilitiesassigned by Dumbledore.
Keep an eye on Quirrell, won’t you?
Nobody knows Snape works for Dumbledore, not even the best of Hogwarts' faculty. Harry witnessesthem discussing Karkaroffand Dumbledore admits that Snape displayed characteristics (bravery in particular) incongruous with Slytherin House.
You are a braver man by far than Igor Karkaroff. You know, I sometimes think we Sort too soon…
When the scene reforms, Snape asks Dumbledore why he put on the cursed Marovolo Gaunt’s ring. It is nighttime, and the two men discuss the curse onMarvolo Gaunt’s ring (a Horcrux)at the headmaster’s office. Snape tries to slow down the spread of the curse by pointing his wand at Dumbledore’s right hand and muttering incantations. He revives the semiconscious headmaster by giving him a goblet of golden potion, and asks, as he regains consciousness:
Why… why did you put on that ring? It carries a curse, surely you realized that. Why even touch it? That ring carried a curse of extraordinary power, to contain it is all we can hope for; I have trapped the curse in one hand for the time being —
Harry sees Dumbledore inquire how long he had before the ring’s deadly curse spread through the rest of his body. “Maybe a year,” informs Snape, adding that there is no halting spell to break the curse and that it will strengthen with time. Then comes Dumbledore’s biggest admission:
I am fortunate, extremely fortunate, that I have you, Severus.
Severus Snape Kills Albus Dumbledore
Dumbledore worries about the Dark Lord’s plan to have Lucius Malfoy’s boy and the Hogwarts student, Draco, kill him. He fears the impact of the Dark Lord’s punishmenton the young Malfoy. Snape and Dumbledore know that Voldemort does not expect Draco to kill Dumbledore, but wants to torture the Malfoys:
In short, the boy has had a death sentence pronounced upon him as surely as I have.
Dumbledore chose Snape to kill himbecause he believed there was still hope for Draco. As seen at the end ofHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Malfoy points his wand at Dumbledore, but Snape kills him with the Avada Kedavra spell. After the death of Dumbledore, Snape is chosen to take over Hogwarts.He’s a pretender Voldemort loyalist, and the Dark Side has tightened its nose over the wizarding world.
In the past, Dumbledore assigns Snape the task of looking after Draco,teaching Harry Occlumency, revealing that a part of Voldemort lives inside Harry. The most poignant of scenes is when Snape expresses disapproval of Dumbledore’s plan to have Harry killed when the right moment should reveal itself:
I have spied for you and lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter’s son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter —
And to this, Dumbledore asks Snape whether he’s grown fond of Harry, but the latter caststhe defensive Patronus Charm(which takes the form of Lily’s silver doe) into the Forest of Dean to help Harry. Sharing Lily’s Patronus symbolizes Snape’s love for Lily, which drives himto protect her sonuntil his last. Snape is Dumbledore’s right-hand man, secret keeper, and it’s unlikely that the good side would have won without their alliance.
Harry Potter
When Harry Potter learns that he is a wizard, he enters a world beyond belief. Aside from continuing his studies at Hogwarts with best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Harry must also face Voldemort and his dark wizarding forces. The Harry Potter franchise is a worldwide phenomenon, spanning seven books, eight movies, three spinoff movies, a stage play, and numerous video games.
